PARAPHRASE OF PS. V by J. M. A.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 3, 1867

PARAPHRASE OF PS. V.

By J. M. A.

GIVE ear, O Lord, hear thou my earnest cry; My inmost thoughts consider, thou Most High; My supplication hear, my God, my King, For my petition unto thee I'll bring; My voice, each morning, thou shalt hear on high, For then, to thee, will I direct my cry.

In wickedness thou takest no delight; With thee no evil dwells,—thy ways are right; The wicked and the vile thou dost despise, Nor shall the foolish stand before thine eyes; Destroy thou shalt all those who leasing speak,— Abhor the man of blood and vain deceit.

But as for me, thy mercy will I heed, And come within thy courts, my cause to plead, And there, toward the temple of thy grace With reverential fear I'll set my face.

Thy way, O Lord, before my face make straight, For lo! mine enemies all lie in wait; In paths of righteousness O lead thou me, Nor let me miss the way marked out by thee; For in their mouth no faithfulness abides; Their inward part, a world of evil hides; Their throat an open vault,—a wicked snare, A flattering tongue withal, to lure one there.

O God, destroy thou them,—consume them all, And by their wicked counsels let them fall; For their transgressions manifold and great, Their names cast out; for all thy laws they hate.

But let all those rejoice that trust in thee, And them that love thy name let joyful be; And ever let them shout for joy intense, Because thou art to them a sure defence; For thou, O Lord, the righteous man wilt bless, And compass him in times of sore distress. J. M. A.